𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟔
Trapped in a great crisis, Yoo Ha-on and her party, who had raided Cheong So-ha’s residence in search of Han Kang-yoon’s doppelganger to prove his innocence, found themselves in an unexpected predicament.
“Oh, we found the doppelganger, but what the hell is this mess!”
Han Kang-yoon’s doppelganger, who was initially expected to be a hostile force, had strangely become a docile puppet, obediently following Yoo Ha-on’s party’s instructions as if it had no will of its own.
The problem was that the Cheong Elders, who had somehow caught wind of the trap, had stormed in and a full-scale melee had broken out.
“. . .They definitely couldn’t have known we were here.”
“News travels too fast. And how did the Elders find us so quickly?”
As a result, Cheong Juhwa volunteered to act as bait while Han Kang-yoon’s doppelganger was being escorted to safety.
They wanted to talk her out of it, but the situation left them with no other choice.
In the end, Yoo Ha-on and her party handed the doppelganger over to Baek So-yul’s subordinates who were waiting nearby, and together with Baek So-yul, they hurriedly headed towards the scene of the fierce battle.
“But is there a way? Let’s be realistic, our friends aren’t strong enough to face the Elders yet.”
Baek So-yul uttered the cold reality with her signature smile.
Despite the life-threatening situation, her demeanor was devoid of any tension.
Yoo Ha-on tried to shake off her fear and spoke to Baek So-yul.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s something we have to do.”
During the kidnapping incident in Spain, Han Kang-yoon had fought against enemies stronger than him without taking a single step back.
And in the end, he had saved several students, including Yoo Ha-on, from death.
She may not be able to accomplish the same feat, but she had to at least repay that debt.
Apart from her concern for Han Seo-ah, who was worried about her family, Yoo Ha-on was driven by a vow she had made to herself.
“. . .Well, that’s good enough.”
Baek So-yul, who had been chuckling meaningfully, took a step forward and stopped Yoo Ha-on and her party, who were rushing past her.
“Sister So-yul? What are you doing?”
“Eun-seo, you really need to work on that one-track mind of yours.”
Baek So-yul continued, her gaze still fixed on her stubborn junior.
“Let me tell you something, the person our friends are looking for has already escaped from Yangcheolgung.”
She hadn’t received any specific news, but she could tell. Baek So-yul, who had formed a servitude contract with Han Kang-yoon in Baekrimjeong, could clearly sense Han Kang-yoon’s aura right here.
“And what’s more, he’s right here. Judging by the direction, it looks like a fight is taking place over the azure dragon.”
“Sister? Is that true?”
Yoo Ha-on and her party tilted their heads in disbelief.
Even as mere academy students, they were well aware of Yangcheolgung’s notorious reputation.
However, Baek So-yul didn’t seem to think it was anything unusual.
“Why would it be difficult? After all, he’s the one who got himself locked up there.”
“. . .Sister, just what kind of position does that person hold in your mind? I don’t understand.”
But since Baek So-yul, their ally, wouldn’t lie in this situation, Yoo Ha-on and her party felt a sense of relief wash over them.
“So, in the end, our worries have been reduced by one?”
“Yeah. If we can just capture the doppelganger, we’ll have enough evidence to clear Oppa’s name after the incident is over.”
Han Seo-ah let out a sigh of relief as if her tension had eased, and Yoo Ha-on fell into deep thought. And then she made a decision.
“Then let’s change direction.”
As far as Yoo Ha-on knew, Han Kang-yoon was always a man who thought one step ahead.
The fact that he had headed towards Cheong Juhwa in this situation meant that he had a way to save her.
In that case, Yoo Ha-on and her party should head towards the direction where Shin No-eul and Arietta had been isolated earlier. That was the right judgment call.
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah. They’re the ones who need our help the most right now. Are you okay, Seo-ah?”
“. . .I’m worried about Oppa, but I think she’s right.”
And so, Yoo Ha-on and her party changed direction and headed towards their comrades once more.
Watching them, Baek So-yul turned her interested gaze towards Yoo Ha-on.
“. . .He told me to give her all the convenience she needed, and it seems the price paid was worth it.”
Baek So-yul felt that Yoo Ha-on, the academy student whom Han Kang-yoon had his eyes on, had the potential to rise even higher.
She had sensed why Baek So-yul had stopped them, and in the end, she had sent her a direct gaze as if to say, “Is this it?”
So, in this incident, it would be Baek So-yul’s role to protect her and her party.
Recalling the image of her master confronting the Elders of the familys surrounding the azure dragon, Baek So-yul smiled in anticipation of the battle that was to come.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Cheong Juhwa, who had volunteered herself as bait for her friends, clenched her fists as hard as she could as she watched the azure dragon’s retreating figure let out a roar of agony.
「. . .𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
She didn’t regret taking the azure dragon from Cheong Do-yool’s clutches.
The azure dragon itself was satisfied, and Cheong Juhwa also felt her childhood wounds healing as she received the azure dragon’s recognition.
However, the family’s malice had not spared her this time either.
They had framed Han Kang-yoon, who had gotten in their way, and sent him to Yangcheolgung, and now they were all rushing in with fire in their eyes to get their hands on the azure dragon once again.
At the moment when her escape, which she had managed to maintain using all her wits, became futile, Cheong Juhwa briefly considered giving up.
Should she just give up and hand over the azure dragon to them?
She wasn’t afraid of getting hurt herself, but Cheong Juhwa didn’t want her comrades and the azure dragon itself to get caught up in it.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩. . . . . . . . .」
Cheong Juhwa was disgusted by the Elders’ tyranny.
She couldn’t bear the thought of handing over the azure dragon, who had protected and helped her so much, to them.
The azure dragon was not an object to be manipulated by the Elders.
It was the guardian deity who had protected the Cheong family for centuries, and it was a great being who still kept the promise it had made with her ancestors.
You may not be able to show respect to such an azure dragon, but if you try to oppress it in this way, the ancestors of the family who were somewhere up in the heavens would shake their heads in dismay.
As if sympathizing with Cheong Juhwa’s feelings, the azure dragon also spoke up, declaring its determination to fight.
It said that it had no intention of lending its power to those who were so rotten-minded and blinded by greed.
And so, Cheong Juhwa endured and endured.
Thud!
Crackle!
『Groan! You’ve really lost your minds to greed and abandoned the right path!』
Even as the azure dragon was wounded and shaken by the Elders’ sorcery, even as malicious gazes rained down on her from all sides.
However, despite all that, she didn’t change her mind.
“You’re really stubborn. It’s about time you returned to your rightful place.”
“How long are you going to be so stubborn? Don’t you understand that the family’s will lies with us?”
They would never change. Unless their arrogance was forcibly broken, they would continue to maintain the same attitude and behave the same way.
Cheong Juhwa raised her hand slightly and began to chant an incantation.
“Five Paths and Six Realms. . .”
Whoosh.
Flash!
Cheong Ji-woon, the 10th Elder of the Qing family, had once tried to use this grand spell against Cheong Un-cheol in front of Cheong Juhwa.
The secret technique that the genius Cheong Ji-woon had created by reinterpreting his family’s esoteric arts over the course of five years was being perfectly reproduced in Cheong Juhwa’s mind.
“Seven Evils and Eight Grudges. . .”
Of course, she was met with laughter from all sides. It went without saying that it was ridiculous to think that a mere child could use a grand spell that was at the level of an Elder.
However, the real owner of the spell, Cheong Ji-woon, hurriedly turned his head and shouted from afar, where he was fighting a fierce battle.
“What are you doing right now! Stop it at once!”
The Elders’ expressions changed at his words. Only then did they realize that this was not a mere imitation.
“What the, how is this possible?”
“8th Elder! Block the azure dragon so that we can stop the incantation!”
But it was too late. While the proud Elders persisted in their ignorance, the spell was already nearing completion.
“Nine Graces and Ten Inscriptions. . .”
It was clearly impossible.
Even if it was just a basic spell, those who could learn it after seeing it once were called prodigies.
And if such a feat continued to the intermediate level, the world would call them geniuses.
But this was a grand spell.
Not even an advanced spell, but a grand spell.
It was a talent that reached the realm of the fearsome and even the bizarre, and the Elders were encountering it for the first time since their names had been given to them at birth.
Whoosh!
Crackle!
Finally, the spell was completed, and it exploded with its inherent power, finally reaching the deployment stage.
“Get out of the way now!”
『. . .If you can, then do it. I will not back down, even if it kills me.』
At that critical moment, there was one being who escaped everyone’s attention.
Cheong Woon-do, the former 6th Elder who had been branded a disgrace to the family and stripped of his Elder status, had somehow circled around and was now behind Cheong Juhwa.
“You seem more useful than that trash, but it’s too bad.”
Stab!
Crack!
Cheong Woon-do’s blow struck Cheong Juhwa’s shoulder, who was concentrating all her energy on the spell.
A gruesome sound of bones breaking echoed through the air, and Cheong Juhwa’s body collapsed to the ground.
And the powerful spiritual power that she had been forcibly holding back surged back, tearing her body apart.
“Cough! Gah. . . . . . . . .!”
Feeling the trickle of blood flowing from her mouth, Cheong Juhwa’s head lolled to the side.
She thought she had done everything she could, but in the end, she had fallen just one step short.
Now, she had neither the strength nor the willpower left.
All she could do was cling desperately to her fading consciousness.
『Damn you, you imbeciles. . . . . . . . .!』
The azure dragon glared at the Elders of the family with its bloodshot eyes, filled with rage.
However, it quickly regained its composure when it saw Cheong Juhwa’s condition, which was clearly critical.
『. . .Heal her. For the last time, I will play into your hands.』
Unlike the Elders, who obediently withdrew their arms, Cheong Woon-do tilted his head and stomped on Cheong Juhwa’s back as she lay helpless on the ground.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
“What kind of nonsense are you all spouting? Don’t you realize that if this child grows up, it won’t take her even a moment to tear us all to pieces?”
“Hey, Cheong Woon-do! I told you that acting on your own is forbidden.”
“No, I don’t want to. In the first place, it was Do-yool who made the agreement with me, not you trash.”
As the Elders twisted their faces in anger at his actions and the azure dragon was about to unleash its pent-up rage, a group of people appeared from one side.
“. . . . . . . . . . . .”
And Han Kang-yoon, who had witnessed the entire scene, frowned, breaking his usual expressionless demeanor.
Most of the exorcists present there couldn’t help but take a step back in shock.
For some reason, the gaze of that being, who was still so immature, felt incredibly ominous.
Leave a Reply